Means for controlling velocity and decreasing shocks and recoil in machinery.



PATENTED MAY 10, 1904* EL G. 'SHORTT. MEANS FOR CONTROLLING VELOCITY AND DEGREASING SHOCKS 'AND'REGOIL IN MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

v1T0 MODEL.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 759,431. PATENTfiD MAYlO, 1904.

- L 4 L 1 E. G. SH0RT T.' I

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING VELOCITY AND DEGRBASING snocxs AND REGOIL IN MACHINERY.

APPLICATION rILnnnno. 22. 1902.

no MODEL. a sums-sum 2.

, 'LT E K I A INVENTORI 9 Z/L Z Q%M%ZZZ,

ATTORNEY m5 noqmsyzvcns U3. mmmlfnoq WASHINGTDN, n. c.

UNITED, STATES Patented May 10, 1904.

PATENT O ICE.

EDWARD G. SHORTT, OF GARTHAGE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES GOODWIN EMERY, OF CLAYTON, NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING V ELOCITY AND DECREASING SHOCKS AND RECOIL IN MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,481, dated. May 10, 1904. Application filed December 2 2, 1902. Serial No. 136,197. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LEDWARI G. SHoRT'r, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Carthage, in the county of Jefferson and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Controlling Velocity and Decreasing Shocks and Recoil in Machinery, of which the following is-a specification.

only one of. many practical applications that maybe made.

The invention consists, essentially, in a rod or part having arectilineal pull or push, which rod is spirally grooved, in combination with a friction-wheel thereon having a'plurality of friction-faces to allow of action in two direc tions, which engage yielding resistance-casings that retard the rotation of the'frictionwheel with a power proportionate to the rotative tendency of the wheel under the endwise movement of the spirally-grooved rod, and also the invention covers numerous details and peculiarities in the construction, arrangement, and combination. of the various mechanical parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed. V

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a longitudinal horizontalsection of my improvements in m'eans for controlling velocity and decreasing shocks and recoil, &c. Fig. 2 is a cross-section. Fig.

3 is a cross-sectional end view. Fig. 4 is a partial "side view of one of the frame-plates andthe inner platebolted thereto.

Like characters of reference designate like L parts throughout all the different figures of the drawings.

1 denotes a draw-bar, 2 the draw-head, and

3 the pivoted knuckle, of a car-coupler of the ordinary type, the same being given here by way of example in order to illustrate the application of the invention to railway-car service; but I am by no means to be restricted to this single field, but reserve the liberty of adapting and applying the invention wherever it is found serviceable. The inner end of the draw-bar 1 is formed integralwith or rigidly attached to a rod 4:, which is spirally grooved and is furnished at each end with collars 26 '26, that are preferably square or angularin order to prevent the rod from rotating. This spirally-grooved rod will have an endwise movement during the processof coupling cars.

together or when the tractional strain due to drawing a heavily-loadedcar is so great as to overcome the normal resisting strength of the springs with which the device is provided.

The frame for the mechanism may be of any suitableand desirable construction that will aflord" the necessary room and supports for the various parts. One form of frame, set forth here by way of example merely, comprises vertical longitudinal plates 7 having horizontal flanges 8. Perpendicular bolts 9, running through the flanges 8 and the sills or chambers 10 of the car, serve to fasten the frame-plates 7 rigidly and immovably beneath the car-flooring. I At the rear end the plates 7 bend toward each other and are united by a plate 14:, securely bolted/to both of them. At the front end the plates 7 curve toward each other and are fastened" firmly together by v means of a plate 11, having anopening 13 and secured to the ends of the plates, by means of bolts 12. Through the opening 13 passes and reciprocatesthe draw-bar 1, belonging to the coupling member 2'. Parallel to the vertical plates 7 and bolted theretoare vertical inside plates having rectangular front sections 15 andrectangular rear sectlons 15, the two sections of each plate being connected together by the integral middle neck 16; 7

Between the plate-sections 15 15 lies a casing A, and between the rear plate-sections 15 '15 liesa similar casing A.

These casings A and A have sleeve portions containing springs C and C, and they also have square or angular flanges B and B, formed with tapering or beveled friction-rings b and Z). The square or angular shape of the flanges B and B enables the casings to be placed between the opposing vertical faces of the frame-plates 7 in such a way that the casings A and A may be susceptible of a short sliding movement, but cannot rotate. The collars 26 at the ends of the spirally-grooved rod are situatedin the' respective casings A and A and are square or angular to correspond with the shape of the interior of said casings, so that the spirallygrooved rod may not be able to rotate during such endwise movement as it may partake of in consequence of the movement of the coupler member by which it is carried and actuated. The flanges B and B are provided with lateral notches D, that engage necks 16, as shown in Fig. 2. This engagement holds the mechanism in alinement and supports its weight under the strain of the operation of the parts. These casings A and A are susceptible of a certain amount of endwise movement, as already stated; but such play as they have takes place between the inner ends of the plate-sections 15 and 15, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and such movement as they have is limited by the contact of the flanges B and B with the ends of said plate-sections 15 and 15 that is to say, said flanges will have only a trifling movement away from actual contact with said ends of the plate-sections and will be in actual contact with one or the other when there is sufficient strain on the parts as to involve a compression of one or the other of the springs U and C. These springs are tensioned between the collars 26 on the spirally-grooved rod 4 and the interior shoulders E within the casings A and A. The ordinary resiliency of the springs employed will be sufficiently strong to enable an empty car to be pulled or pushed without compressing the spring; but when the car is loaded one spring or the other, accordingly as the car is being drawn forward or backed, will be compressed to a greater or less degree in proportion to the force exercised on the draw-head.

On the spirally-grooved rod 4 is a wheel or roller 5, which is spirally grooved internally, so that it may engage the spirally-grooved shaft 4. As the shaft 4 is non-rotative, it will be evident that its endwise movement will cause a rotation of wheel 5. This wheel is formed with beveled or tapering friction-faces 6 and 6, which are adapted to engage, respectively, with the beveled faces 5 and 7) on the casing-flanges B and B. When the power which acts to move the spirally-grooved rod 4 in one direction or the other is sufficient to cause a rotation of the wheel 5, said wheel will be pressed tightly against the frictionface I) or b,while simultaneously the eflect of compressing one or the other of the springs will be to cause the other friction-face to be brought tightly into contact with the wheel.

Thus the rotative faces of the wheel will be tightly in contact with the non-rotative faces of the casings, and the tendency of the wheel to revolve will be impeded and obstructed by the frictional grip of the casing-flanges, so that although the endwise movement of the shaft 4 will cause necessarily something of a rotation of the wheel, yet the retardation of such. rotation will have a converse effect of preventing an endwise movement of the shaft, and consequently the movement of the parts will not be great, but shocks varying in intensity and including those of very high degree may be sustained by the mechanism of my present invention without allowing the car or other structure with which the improvements may be employed to suffer any injury in consequence of the shocks or concussions.

The operation of my improved mechanism will be evident from the foregoing description of the construction and relative arrangement of its parts. Though primarily designed for use in car coupling and buffing, with also an auxiliary relation to car-braking, it must be understood that the invention is broad in its adaptability and can be serviceably applied to various kinds of machinery where it is needful under certain conditions to reduce Velocity or to provide a yielding appliance to sustain shocks, concussions, and recoils-as, for instance, in gun-carriages. Any agency which reciprocates the spirally-grooved rod will obviously tend to cause a rotation of the frictionwheel, and its rotation will be controlled by thej gripping contact of the wheel with the friction-faces of the yielding casings. A severe blow given by one member of a carcoupler to the other in the act of coupling will be moderated and mitigated by this mechanism, so as to prevent injury to the cars.

Manifold applications of the invention may be suggested and described; but inasmuch as a number of outlines thereof have been portrayed it is unnecessary to further detail the operation or enlarge upon the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a mechanism of the class described, a spirally-grooved rod, in combination with a friction-wheel thereon.

2. In a mechanism of the class described, a spirally-grooved rod, in combination with a friction-wheel, and yielding friction-rings engaging it.

3. In a mechanism of the class described, a spirally-grooved rod, in combination with a wheel having friction-faces, non-rotative friction rings or casings susceptible of an endwise play, and elastic connections between the rod and said casings.

4. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination of a spirally-grooved rod, a wheel thereon having friction-faces, casings having spirally-grooved rod in combination With a rotative fr1ct1on-Wheel, and non-rotative yleldmg friction rings or casings.

7 In a mechanism of the class described, a.

rectilineally-movable member in combination with a rotative friction-Wheel thereon and nonrotative yielding resistance elements for retarding the rotation of the friction element. Signed at Carthage, New York, this 24th day of November, 1902.

EDWARD G. SHORTT. Witnesses:

H. G. SHORTT, W. W. SWEET. 

